Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases the number of ballots required to be hand-counted after an election.

Highlights:

• Establishes the hand counting of ballots will be conducted at the precinct level. For this section, a voting center has been deemed a precinct (Sec. 1-1).

• Requires the races to be counted by selecting without the use of a computer from those ballots as follows (Sec. 1-2):

• For a general election, one statewide ballot measure, unless there are no measures on the ballot;

• One contested statewide race for statewide office;

• One contested race for federal office, either United States Senate or United States House of Representatives. candidates may vary among the sampled precincts.

• One contested race for state legislative office, either state House of Representatives or state Senate.

• If fewer than four contested races resulting from the selections made according to federal, statewide, or legislative races or ballot measures, additional contested races shall be selected by a lot not using a computer until four races have been selected or until no additional contested federal, statewide or legislative races or ballot measures are available for selection.

• If there are no contested races as prescribed, a hand count shall not be conducted for that precinct for that election.

• Requires county political party chairman to participate in the hand count and to provide a sufficient number of qualified electors to act as election board members for the hand count (Sec. 1-9).

• Specifies, for a county with a population of 800,000 persons or more, the chairmen’s designees must randomly select from early sequestered ballots 10,000 early ballots as determined by the vote verification committee to achieve a statistically significant number of early ballots cast in that county (Sec. 1-9.F).

• Specifies a person is not eligible to be a committee member if that person has been affiliated with or received any income in the preceding five years from any person or entity that provides election equipment or services in this state (Sec. 1-9.K-3).

Full Bill Text